The Ford Modeling Agency, or as it is known today Ford Models, is a modeling agency in New York City. It was established in 1946 by Eileen and the late Gerard W. Ford.^[1][2]

Company[link]

Ford Models was started in 1946 by Eileen and Gerard W. "Jerry" Ford. Ford was the first company to advance their models money owed by jobs that had been completed but not yet paid. The Ford family had the tradition of allowing teenage models who originate far from New York City to stay in their home.^[3]

The company was the pre-eminent New York agency until John Casablancas of Elite Model Management opened up in the city, leading to the "model wars" of the 1980s.^[4] Ford, like many of the original agencies of the 1970s, now has to compete with a broad field of contenders, such as Women, IMG and DNA.

The agency has represented a diverse list of models and celebrities. In 1980, the company established the Ford Supermodel of the World Contest that attracts more than 60,000 hopefuls annually from around the world.

History[link]

Eileen and Jerry began the business in their home. Katie Ford took over in 1995 after working in the agency for 16 years. In 2007, John Caplan became Ford Models’ Chief Executive Officer.^[5] After leaving the company, Katie Ford became Global Ambassador for the anti-slavery/anti-human trafficking organization Free the Slaves.

In recent years the company, with offices worldwide, has diversified through Ford Artists into other professions related to the fashion industry. It has also promoted itself through its social media platform, which includes the Ford Models Blog, Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube. Ford Models has also lent its name to an imprint of Random House books, which created a series of teen novels that served to try and glamorize working with the agency.^[6]

Ford Artists[link]

In recent years the company has diversified into other professions related to the fashion industry through Ford Artists. They represent hair stylists, makeup artists, manicurists, stylists, set designers, prop stylists, art directors, and photographers.^[7]

In addition to the New York City headquarters, Ford Artists has offices in , Miami, Chicago, Phoenix,, and Toronto.^[7]

Investment[link]

In 2000, Magnum Sports and Entertainment bought 80% of the agency.^[8] In 2007, Stone Tower Equity Partners made an investment in the company.^[5][9]

Notable Ford models[link]

Ford's clients have included^[10][11][12]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Ford Models Blog
• Ford Artists
• fordPROJECT

[edit] References

1. ^ Finke, Nikki. "TOLDJA! ICM Management Buyout Complete". http://www.deadline.com/2012/05/toldja-icm-management-buyout-complete/. Retrieved 27 May 2012. 

For the American ice hockey player, see Chris Moran (ice hockey).

Sir Christopher Hugh Moran
180px Air Chief Marshal Christopher H. Moran
Nickname	Boggy[1]
Born	(1956-04-28)28 April 1956 Urmston, Lancashire
Died	26 May 2010(2010-05-26) (aged 54) John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service/branch	Royal Air Force
Rank	Air Chief Marshal
Commands held	No. IV Squadron RAF Wittering No. 1 Group Air Command
Awards	Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath Officer of the Order of the British Empire Member of the Royal Victorian Order

Air Chief Marshal Sir Christopher Hugh "Chris" Moran KCB OBE MVO ADC FRAeS (28 April 1956 – 26 May 2010) was a fast jet pilot and later a senior commander in the Royal Air Force. He died unexpectedly on 26 May 2010 and at the time of his death he was Commander-in-Chief of Air Command.

Early and family life[link]

Moran was born in Urmston, Lancashire,^[2] and educated at Bishop Ullathorne School in Coventry in the late sixties and early seventies^[3] before attending the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology to study Mechanical Engineering.^[1] In 1974, whilst studying at university, Moran became a university cadet in the Royal Air Force. Moran graduated from UMIST in 1977 with a BSc and went to RAF College Cranwell for his initial training with the RAF.^[4] He was later to earn an MA from King's College London.^[5] In 1980 he married Elizabeth Jane Goodwin.^[6]

Early career[link]

After completing pilot training, Moran converted onto the Harrier with No. 233 Operational Conversion Unit. In 1980 Moran entered productive service, flying Harriers with No. IV Squadron. In 1983 he returned to No. 233 Operational Conversion Unit, attending a weapons instructors' course before returning to No. IV Squadron as a Qualified Weapons Instructor. Promoted to squadron leader in 1986, Moran was appointed as a flight commander on No. IV Squadron, serving in Belize, the Falkland Islands, and on HMS Illustrious. In 1985, He was also an exchange officer with the United States Marine Corps at Cherry Point, North Carolina.^[4]

Moran commanded the Harrier squadron in the Harrier Operational Conversion Unit at RAF Wittering, and then attended the Advanced Staff Course in 1991. After a brief posting to the Ministry of Defence he was appointed Equerry to HRH The Duke of Edinburgh.^[4]

In 1994 Moran became the commanding officer of No. IV Squadron which was based in Germany. The same year Moran led his squadron to the Middle East for duties on Operation Warden which involved enforcing the no-fly zone over northern Iraq. In 1995 Moran and No. IV Squadron flew missions against the Bosnian Serbs as part of Operation Deliberate Force.^[1]

Later career[link]

Promoted to Group Captain in 1996, he was appointed Staff Officer HQ 1 Group, and in the following year, station commander of RAF Wittering. After attending the Higher Command and Staff Course in 1999 Moran became Divisional Director at the Joint Services Command and Staff College, where he also completed an MA. As an Air Commodore he was then Director of Air Staff until 2002, and then the Chief of Defence Staff's liaison officer to the US Joint Staff in Washington. In the following year he became Air Officer Commanding 1 Group as an Air Vice-Marshal. In 2005 he became Assistant Chief of Air Staff.^[4]

In 2005, Moran was appointed to the board of the Civil Aviation Authority.^[7]

He was promoted Air Marshal and became Deputy Commander Allied Joint Force Command Brunssum in May 2007, in succession to Lieutenant General D. L. Judd CB. Air Chief Marshal Moran was appointed Commander-in-Chief of Air Command on 3 April 2009.^[8] Moran was appointed a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath (KCB) in the 2009 New Year Honours.^[9]

Moran's death was announced on the evening of 26 May 2010; he had collapsed following a triathlon at RAF Brize Norton that afternoon. He was taken to the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford by air ambulance, but was pronounced dead on arrival. Moran was survived by his wife Elizabeth, Lady Moran, two daughters and a son.^[10]

References[link]

Tommy Hilfiger
Tommy Hilfiger in 2010
Born	Thomas Jacob Hilfiger (1951-03-24) March 24, 1951 (age 61) Elmira, New York, U.S.
Nationality	American
Occupation	Fashion designer
Spouse	Dee Ocleppo (2008-present) Susie Hilfiger (1980-2000)
Children	Alexandria ("Ally") Richard Elizabeth Kathleen Sebastian Thomas
Labels	Tommy Hilfiger

Tommy Hilfiger (Thomas Jacob Hilfiger, born March 24, 1951) ^[1] is an American fashion designer and founder of the premium lifestyle brand Tommy Hilfiger Corporation.

Early life[link]

Hilfiger was born in Elmira, New York. The second of nine children of a jeweler and an Irish-American nurse, he grew up in an German-Swiss/Irish-American family.^[2] Hilfiger also claims direct descendence from the Scottish poet Robert Burns.^[3] His parents originally intended for him to be an engineer.

He attended the Elmira Free Academy for high school. He also attended GST BOCES Bush Campus ^[4] in Elmira, New York for Fashion Design.

Career[link]

Rather than furthering his education, he started to work in retail at the age of 18. Hilfiger would go to New York City to buy jeans and bell-bottom pants, which he customized and resold at Brown's, a local downtown Elmira store.

He later opened his own store, named The People's Place, around the block in downtown Elmira. Over the years, a number of stores closed in downtown Elmira as shopping traffic shifted to the new Arnot Mall in Horseheads, New York.^{[citation needed]} After seven years, The People's Place went bankrupt, when Hilfiger was 25. The site of the original store has since been demolished to make room for First Arena, home of the Elmira Jackals Hockey team.^{[citation needed]}

After turning to the design of clothing by designing for the rest of his stores in upstate New York, Hilfiger moved to New York City with his wife Susie. Although he was offered design assistant positions with designers Calvin Klein and Perry Ellis, and was broke, he turned down the offers.

In 1984, he founded the Tommy Hilfiger Corporation, (NYSE:TOM), with support from The Murjani Group, which went public in 1992, introducing his signature menswear collection. By 2004 the company had 5,400 employees and revenues in excess of $1.8 billion. Hilfiger was named Menswear Designer of the Year by the Council of Fashion Designers of America in 1995.^[5]

In 1998, Hilfiger gave singer Aaliyah her endorsement deal, in which he honored her in his Summer 1998 fashion show in Jamaica.

In 2005, a CBS TV reality show called The Cut tracked the progress of sixteen contestants as they competed for a design job with Hilfiger in similar fashion to Donald Trump's The Apprentice. In the end Hilfiger chose Chris Cortez.

Largely due to declining sales, in 2006, Tommy Hilfiger sold his company for $1.6 billion, or $16.80 a share, to Apax Partners, a private investment company.^[6][7][8]

In March 2010, Phillips-Van Heusen, owner of Calvin Klein, bought the Tommy Hilfiger Corporation for $3 billion.^[9]

In March 2012, Hilfiger was announced as the fashion consultant on American Idol.

Personal life[link]

Hilfiger has four children with his ex-wife, Susie: Alexandria ("Ally"), Richard, Elizabeth, and Kathleen. His daughter Ally was featured in the 2003 MTV reality show Rich Girls and his son, Rich, was signed to hip hop super producer Swizz Beatz' label Full Surface.

Hilfiger put his Greenwich, Connecticut, mansion on the market in the summer of 2008 for an asking price of $27 million.

On December 12, 2008, he married his second wife Dee Ocleppo (Deniz Carolina Erbuğ), former wife of Gianni Ocleppo, famous Italian tennis player of the 1980s. On February 25, 2009, the New York Post reported that Ocleppo was three months pregnant, and Hilfiger would welcome a fifth child later in 2009.^[10] On May 4, 2009, Hilfiger and Ocleppo announced they were expecting a boy,^[11] who was born on Tuesday, August 4, 2009, and named Sebastian Thomas Hilfiger.

Criticisms[link]

Hilfiger has been criticized for having manufactured clothes in sweatshop conditions in the United States territory of Saipan in the Northern Mariana Islands. As a U.S. Commonwealth, clothes made there can be labeled "Made in the USA", but federal labor laws including the minimum wage do not apply. In March 2000, the company, along with other defendants, settled a class action suit brought by Saipanese garment workers, which had alleged mistreatment by over 20 large U.S. clothing manufacturers.^[12]

Product lines[link]

• Hilfiger Denim, a premium-upscale denim collection for men and women. Designs are inspired by American classics and finished with a modern edge.^[13]
• True Star Gold, fragrance created by Hilfiger and spokeswoman Beyoncé Knowles
• True Star, another fragrance created by Hilfiger and with spokesperson Beyoncé Knowles & True Star Men, a fragrance created by Hilfiger and with spokesperson Enrique Iglesias
• Tommy Girl, fragrance for women
• Red Label, a line of denim-themed products including jeans, t-shirts, and sweatshirts
• H by Tommy Hilfiger, an upscale line which was ended after Tommy Hilfger sold his company, the same sort of style is now carried on under the Tommy Hilfiger label in their specialty stores
• Tommy Hilfiger, the company line of clothes sold in department stores, company stores, and specialty stores
• Tommy Sport, a defunct line that came out in the 1990s and capitalized on Hilfiger's popularity in urban areas.
• Tommy Hilfiger for the Home, a line of bedding and bath products
• Tommy Sailing, was due to be released in January or February 2007.
• Tommy, a brightly colored casual line.
• Tommy Jeans, a denim inspired clothing collection and corresponding fragrance
• Hilfiger Athletics, a sport inspired clothing line and fragrance

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Tommy Hilfiger

• Official website
• Urban Legends that allege false claims against Hilfiger
• Anti-Defamation League; Letter to Tommy Hilfiger